Recently, manufacturing designs have increasingly incorporated parts having free-form or complex geometries. Although parts having such geometries often replace parts having simpler geometries, there is still a need to verify the accuracy of parts having complex geometries for both fit and function.
Evaluating the accuracy of manufactured parts with complex geometries is more difficult than inspection of their prismatic predecessors. The closest prior art consists of a group of related patents which disclose the use of computer-generated models related to fabricating objects having unique geometries, such as a dental prosthesis.
These patents include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,257,203, 5,121,334 and 5,121,333 of Riley et al., 5,184,306 and 5,128,870 of Erdman et al., and 5,027,281 of Rekow et al. Each of the cited patents discloses steps involved with creating a computer model for use with a milling machine. None of the references, however, disclose methods for verifying conformance of the manufactured prosthesis to the computer model.
In view of the prior art and the trend toward parts having free-form geometries, a need exists for an efficient and accurate method for verifying conformance of a manufactured part to its design specifications.